Tech tailback Ryan Williams runs past Maryland defense.
College Park, Md. ― The No. 20 Virginia Tech football team went to town on a banged-up University of Maryland Saturday afternoon, defeating the Terrapins 36-9 in College Park, Md.
Hokies junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor had a career day, completing 13 of 23 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns while rushing eight times for 91 yards in the game.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said head coach Frank Beamer. “I mean, we had a couple of tough losses and we’ve come back and we’ve hung in there and stayed together.
“Tyrod did a nice job, made some nice plays, kept some plays alive, made some nice throws. Had a couple throws he’d like to have back ... but you know, as long as you’ve got Tyrod, you’ve got a chance,” Beamer said.
Tech outgained the Terrapins 484-236 yards in the game, while four different Hokies scored touchdowns as Tech’s offense dismantled a seemingly undermanned Terrapin defense.
The first Hokies score of the game came just five minutes into the first quarter, when redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams capped off a 10 play, 71-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown rush.
With the touchdown run, Williams broke the Tech freshman record for touchdowns in a season ― giving him 11 on the year.
Williams finished the game with 126 yards on 23 carries and scored one touchdown.
“We come out here with the same mentality every time,” Williams said. “That’s just to try to come out here and play our best game and when we do that, we feel like we can beat anybody and we came out here with a great team win offensively and defensively.
After the Tech defense quickly stopped the Terrapins ― something they seemed to do all day ― the team’s traded possessions and the Hokies got the ball back.
With 7:50 remaining in the first, they went back to work.
In two minutes and 30 seconds, Taylor lead his team down the field and put the Hokies up 14-0 with a three-yard touchdown toss to redshirt junior tight end Andre Smith. It was Smith’s second touchdown catch of his career and just his third catch on the season.
After the Terrapins began the second quarter with a 36-yard field goal from placekicker Nick Ferrara, the Hokies continued their aggressive attack.
In eight plays on the ensuing drive, the Hokies went 56 yards downfield and capped off another drive with another Taylor touchdown pass – this time to sophomore wide receiver Dyrell Roberts for 10 yards, putting the Hokies up 20-0.
Then, like it was easy, the Hokies scored again on the following drive.
This time, with slightly more than eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, all Taylor and the Tech offense needed was one play.
Beginning the team’s fifth drive on Tech’s own 36, Taylor received the snap, dropped back and hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Jarrett Boykin across the middle of the field.
Thanks to a missed tackle by Maryland defensive back Jamari McCollough, Boykin broke loose in the Terrapin backfield and took the ball all the way to the house, 64 yards for a score.
The touchdown was a career-long for Boykin and his fourth score on the year. He finished the game with threee catches for 118 yards, leading the Hokies through the air.
“As receivers, we love one-on-one opportunities,” Boykin said. “It gets us chances to get open and just blow the defensive back off the ball and make plays.”
Before the end of the first half, Maryland failed to convert on a 39-yard field goal attempt and when the half was over, the Hokies headed to the locker room with a 27-3 lead.
In the first half alone, Taylor completed 10 of 17 passes, recording 200 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns were a career high for the quarterback.
“I think it was one of the better games (of my career),” Taylor said. “I still had a lot of mistakes out there and I can go back and look at film and just build off of that.”
In the second half, it was more of the same as the Hokies defense continued to force the Terrapin offense off the field and the Tech offense continued to control the ball when they had it.
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Defeating a struggling Maryland team that has had to replace their starting quarterback and is suffering many other injuries isn't a big accomplishment in itself. Since when did Virginia Tech's bar get set so low? We use to be in the National Championship picture now we are completely out of the ACC championship picture and happy to win on the road and shooting for 10 wins for what the 4th or 5th time in a row against the same teams?
As many have said something is wrong with this picture and it comes down to one or two coaches I won't mention their names on here but everyone knows who they are.
Next year when our players are even more experienced, we better not be in the same situation since there would be no excuse for them this time.
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Unfortunately, next year our players will not be more experienced. We loose 6 starters on defense, 4 on offense (including Boone, Wang & Render) and both kickers.
This was the year something should have happened, at least an ACC Championship. I agree, there need to be coaching changes. Tragically, it appears that won't happen unless the head guy goes too.
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